EDITORIAL: Senate ambushes effort to give muscle to open government law

What appeared to be a genuine opportunity for lawmakers to finally put some muscle behind the state's open meetings/open records laws may fizzle in the Indiana Senate where some members are worried about their own records. Unfortunately, their concerns appear to be misguided.

This legislation, which is important to Hoosiers who want unfettered access to meetings of public officials and to public records, would allow fines to be levied against public officials who deliberately violate the Open Door Law or the Access to Public Records Act. A judge could levy a fine of up to $100 against a violator of the law, or $500 against a repeat offender.

These fines are the one thing missing from a 15-year-long campaign to take Indiana government to a new level of openness and accessibility.

This appeared to be the year, especially with passage in the Indiana House of HB 1093 on a vote of 90-4. However, the Indiana Senate was not as receptive.

According to the Hoosier State Press Association, which is pushing hard for passage, Senate leadership has decided to allow the House bill to die without a Senate committee hearing.

The press association reports that Senate leadership is concerned about its ability to protect constituent correspondence and the work product of legislators, partisan staff and the Legislative Services Agency.

But the press association argues that passage of the bill containing some teeth would not impact the legislature, given the Indiana Supreme Court's position that it would not enforce public access laws against the General Assembly on the principle of separation of powers. The HSPA said that if you can't sue the legislature for a violation of the access laws, then no fine could be handed down against them.

Consequently, the court of public opinion would be the only check on potential abuse by future legislators when it comes to records requests, the association has argued.

Beyond that, the issue has been made too narrow. Open government goes far beyond legislative correspondence and research, and reaches daily into city and county government offices all across Indiana. It is meant for Hoosiers who have a serious interest in government proceedings, as well as those who are merely curious. Both are entitled to access to public records and meetings, and should not be stopped by public officials, who either don't understand state law or are too arrogant to follow it.

If those officials face the possibility of fines, then they will pay far more attention to what the law says about open government.

The situation is this. With the Senate denying the measure a committee hearing, the only possible place for survival this session would be in assignment to a House/Senate conference committee.

Time is running out; if you have the opportunity to discuss this with your elected lawmakers, ask them if the Senate has a really good reason for denying this muscle to Hoosiers concerned about open government. Ask them for a conference committee hearing.